A jig for the agla micrometer syringe for automatic quantitative applications in paper electrophoresis.

This test is quick, cheap, simple, and painless. It is adequate in most cases for the diagnosis of achlorhydria. The usefulness of test meals for diagnosing any other gastric abnormality is questionable. The term " achlorhydria " is usually taken to mean that the gastric juice has a pH of more than 3, as shown by Topfer's reagent or thymol blue. It denotes a relative " an "-acidity rather than a complete absence of hydrochloric acid. The results of the dye-resin test can be varied by altering the quantity of dye and resin and the time of urine collection. A standardized procedure, therefore, is necessary. The conditions which may give misleading results in resin tests have been described by Harkness and Durant (1953). They include the administration in the two days before the test of such ions as aluminium, magnesium, calcium, barium, iron, and kaolin that may release dye from the resin. Pathological states which may interfere with excretion of the dye include pyloric stenosis, intestinal malabsorption, and diseases of the urinary tract. The commercial preparation of the dye resin ("diagnex," Squibb) substitutes 500 mg. of caffeine sodium benzoate for histamine. Although caffeine is a powerful gastric stimulant, the meaning of achlorhydria is generally taken to be the absence of free acid after histamine stimulation. It is therefore preferable to use histamine instead of caffeine.